Chase Daniel walked alone with his thoughts through the MetLife Stadium basement and out to the Bears’ bus late Sunday afternoon. Of the 77 plays in their wrenching, thrilling, regrettable 30-27 overtime loss to the Giants, a half-dozen played on a loop in his mind.

The pick-six on his first pass of the game. The touchdown-turned-interception early in the second quarter. And he could pick from any of his five sacks and four fumbles.

“I let my team down,” Daniel said. “I’ll be the first one to say it. It’s sad because I pride myself on taking care of the football and playing with an edge. For the first three quarters, we really didn’t do that.”

As a result, when the Bears reached in to pull out another rabbit, all they found was the bottom of the hat.

So put their five-game winning streak in the past and shove those January playoff plans back in the drawer. Sunday’s loss to the lowly Giants (4-8) was an important reality check.

The Bears — still in first place at 8-4 — haven’t won a darn thing. And their unconvincing offense, which failed to outscore the opponent for a third straight game, still has everything to prove.

“We have to figure out how to learn from this,” coach Matt Nagy said. “This is part of that callus. That callus goes on.”

Mitch Trubisky’s ailing right shoulder can’t get well fast enough. Daniel’s efficiency against the Lions on Thanksgiving mitigated the impact of Trubisky’s absence, but the Bears felt it deeply against a Giants defense that did its best Bears impersonation.

Photos from the Bears' 30-27 overtime loss to the Giants on Dec. 2, 2018, game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

(Jose M. Osorio and Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Their season-high five sacks resulted from Daniel’s preference to go down with the ball rather than risk throwing it into the wrong hands. Without the edge Trubisky provides with his legs, the Bears were stagnant in falling behind 24-14 late in the third quarter.

Yes, they made an extraordinary rally from down 10 points with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Daniel was a big part of that. His connection was strong with Tarik Cohen, who finished with 12 catches for 156 yards.

But the early turnovers and empty possessions kept the Bears from controlling the game. Their rhythm took too long to find.

Daniel’s day started as badly as possible. His first read on his first pass turned out to be a mirage.

Cohen was open in the left flat, but linebacker Alec Ogletree tricked Daniel into thinking he was rushing the passer. Instead, he did what the Bears call a “mush rush.”

Ogletree kept his eyes on the quarterback while rushing at half-speed. That allowed him to jump, intercept the throw and return it 8 yards for a touchdown.

“I really didn’t see Ogletree,” Daniel said. “A lot of people were probably like, ‘What is he doing?’ I thought he was blitzing and rushing.”

The Bears needed 13 more plays before they gained a first down that wasn’t via penalty. When they finally got it as part of a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, it seemed that maybe the offense had arrived, albeit a bit late.

But Daniel missed a terrific opportunity for points on the ensuing drive because, again, he didn’t see Ogletree while looking for Cohen. This time, Cohen ran a route from the backfield straight down the left seam.

“It was screaming ‘wide open,’” Daniel said.

But Daniel didn’t see Ogletree undercutting the route. He lost sight of him behind the center and guard, he said. Ogletree made a fully-extended one-handed catch that would make any highlight reel, but Daniel could’ve avoided that by putting more air under the throw.

“That’s one I want back,” he said.

The same applied to the four fumbles, none of which he lost, but all of which were disruptive. The Giants handled the wet conditions better. They never fumbled, while the Bears did six times.

It left the Bears on the wrong side of the turnover margin (minus-2) for the first time this season. And that outweighed a late comeback that would’ve been unforgettable had it resulted in a win.

Instead, Daniel was left to trudge out alone. As he exited through the stadium doorway, general manager Ryan Pace met him walking the other way. Pace hugged him, patted him on the shoulder and muttered a few words. Then, onto the bus he went.